updated 03:04 pm EDT, Mon September 3, 2012

Possible phablet seems to lack a stylus

HTC appears to be readying its own extra-large smartphone to compete with Samsung's Galaxy Note line of devices. The unannounced device showed up in a now-deleted forum post on Phone HK, and it appears to match a device HTC was previously rumored to be working on. Details on when the 5-inch device might be released -- or even announced -- are unavailable, though some word of its expected specifications has leaked out.

The leaked images show off a 5-inch screen that is said to output at 1794x1080 Full HD. It features both a rear- and front-facing camera, the rear one with an LED flash, and the red trimming on the device has led some observers to believe it will be appearing on Verizon's network. The images of the device are blurry, but it appears to lack the stylus input seen on Samsung's Galaxy Note devices. The device also sports Beats Audio branding.

Additional details on the device's internals are scarce, though some believe that it is the same unit that appeared on a benchmarking site last month. That device, the HTC6435LVW, had a 1.5GHz processor that outperformed the traditional Qualcomm S4 to the extent that it was believed to be a next-gen chip. It ran version 4.0.4 of Google's Android operating system.

The sales success of Samsung's Galaxy Note has grabbed the attention of a number of other manufacturers. LG, for one, has its own Note competitor in the form of its Optimus Vu, and HTC's entry into the 'phablet' sector could be a way of reversing the company's lackluster sales. [viaAndroid Community]